Micron Stock Jumps To Record High After Strong Earnings, Upbeat Guidance

Micron Technology (MU) shares soared to a record high in early trading Thursday after the memory and storage chip maker reported quarterly results that sailed past Wall Street’s expectations and issued a better-than-expected outlook amid artificial intelligence (AI)-driven demand.

The stock was up 15.1% at $110.74 about half an hour after Thursday's opening bell. The stock has now gained 35% since the start of the year.

The Boise, Idaho-based company late Wednesday posted fiscal second-quarter adjusted earnings of 42 cents per share, up from a loss of $1.91 a share in last year’s corresponding quarter and significantly ahead of analysts’ expectations for a loss. Revenues in the period of $5.82 billion grew from $3.69 billion a year earlier and handily topped the $5.34 billion consensus view.

Looking ahead, the memory chip maker projects current-quarter midpoint adjusted earnings of 45 cents per share on revenue of $6.6 billion, plus or minus $200 million. Both metrics far surpass the Street expectation of 8 cents a share on sales of $5.98 billion.

“We believe Micron is one of the biggest beneficiaries in the semiconductor industry of the multi-year opportunity enabled by AI,” Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said in a statement accompanying the quarterly results.

Mehrotra also noted in prepared remarks that AI server demand has tightened demand-supply dynamics, which has helped Micron benefit from robust price increases in all memory and storage end markets. He said he anticipates pricing levels to increase further throughout this year, adding that the company expects record revenue and much improved profitability in fiscal 2025.

Taking a look at the weekly chart, the Micron share price broke out from a 16-month ascending channel in late February, climbing to a new all-time high in the process. However, since that time, the stock has consolidated on average trading volumes near the pattern’s top trendline as investors waited on the sidelines ahead of the company’s earnings release. 

Amid the post-earnings breakout, keep an eye on a prior double top pattern that formed on the chart around $98—a region that may now turn into a future price support level during retracements.

UPDATE—March 21, 2024: This article has been updated to include recent share price information.

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As of the date this article was written, the author does not own any of the above securities.